The Double Life of Israel

Israel receiving support as one of the good guys while acting like a rogue state will prevent peace.

By Liam Bailey

Israel has been an ally of the U.S and U.K since its formation, but where U.K support has fluctuated between governments and events, the U.S’ continued strong support has continually infuriated Arab and Muslim communities around the globe. With such strong support from the strongest nations in the world; Israel has maintained a firm hold on the moral high ground throughout it’s combatively chequered past. In defending itself against what it perceives and presents as a combined Arab world surrounding and suffocating their borders, constantly attempting to wipe them out. Israel’s actions and reactions are often infringing on international law, which runs the risk of making them as bad as terrorists, and strengthens the resolve of their many enemies.

The most recent Israel-Lebanon conflict was no exception. Israel went into the conflict safe in the knowledge that they had Hezbollah well out gunned, the IDF tanks, guided missiles, fighter planes and bombers with laser guided munitions and nuclear weapons none of which could be matched by the Shiite Guerrilla’s. Despite Israel’s superior and advanced weaponry, which killed as many as 700 Hezbollah fighters, the Olmert administration has since been forced to admit its military used weapons during the conflict that have been banned by International law, they are still denying the use of uranium munitions.

The nuclear allegations in, The Independent quoted Dr Chris Busby, the British Scientific Secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risk, who reported that soil samples gathered from at least two bomb craters caused by heavy or guided Israeli bombs in Khiam and At-Tiri showed “elevated radiation signatures”. All samples taken have been forwarded to the Harwell laboratory in Oxfordshire for mass spectrometry, further examination used by the Ministry of Defence, which has confirmed the high concentration of Uranium isotopes in the samples in question. An IDF spokesman responded to the Independent’s claim in the Jerusalem Post: “The IDF Spokesman’s Office wants to make it clear that no munitions containing uranium were used in the war in Lebanon,”The UN hasn’t yet confirmed Dr Chris Busby’s report, but they announced Oct. 28 that they would soon be able to say whether Uranium munitions were used by Israel or not. Director of the Bahrain based United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for Asia and the Middle East Boutros al-Harb added: “If there is uranium we will find it.”If Dr Busby’s findings are confirmed, when the official report is released in Beirut mid-December then it is a flagrant use of the world’s most dangerous weaponry, from a country arguably in the top 5 of nuclear states, aided by the U.S every step of the way with some of the most advanced and deadly weaponry on the planet. These reports are undoubtedly adding explosives to the Iran nuclear stand-off, in that if a major nuclear power is irresponsible enough to use such weapons so close to Lebanese civilians and even possibly their own civilians… what gives Israel and their allies the right to forbid anyone from having such weapons to defend themselves, Iran are long running enemies of Israel, and thought to be controlling Hezbollah’s actions can easily claim genuine fear of an Israeli nuclear attack.

Why, any deal between the west and Iran, which to be honest I can’t see, may have to involve a security guarantee that Iran would not be attacked by the U.S or Israel.

On the other hand, some Hezbollah rocket attacks were aimed intentionally at civilians, but their lack of accuracy meant Hezbollah rocket attacks accounted for only 44 civilian deaths, using rockets and anti-tank weapons alongside conventional warfare Hezbollah killed some 119 Israeli soldiers. Of the 1233+ civilians killed in the conflict some 1187 were killed by Israel’s IDF in bombing raids and artillery attacks, almost twice the number of enemy combatants. Lebanese civilians are still being killed by ,a href=“http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=87122&d=25&m=10&y=2006”>unexploded cluster bombs, dropped in their millions by the IDF approaching the end of the war. Hezbollah killing more soldiers than civilians and Israel doing the reverse backs up my argument that Israel can be classed as terrorists meeting resistance.

Revelations before the nuclear findings forced the Olmert administration into another damaging confession about its war, when it announced that it had used phosphorous artillery shells to attack military targets, Israeli leaders had previously said the weapons were used only to mark targets. The use of white phosphorous weapons, which cause severe chemical burns, either against civilians or in civilian areas is banned by the Geneva conventions. Although Israel maintains the weapons were only used against military targets, Hezbollah positions close proximity to civilian areas, evident in the high Lebanese civilian death toll should surely have prevented Israel’s use of phosphorous or nuclear weapons, and not just because it was contrary to international law.

Undoubtedly Israel’s superior military, coupled with Israeli security being the reason given for the war put extreme pressure on Prime Minister Olmert and his administration to end Hezbollah rocket attacks on Israel once and for all. Such pressure may have been the reason behind the indiscriminate bombing which killed so many Lebanese civilians, as well as 2 UN observers, but it may also have been the trigger for Israel’s use of two types of weapon banned by international law, and therein the massive potential to strengthen the resolve of every extremist seeking the demise of the Jewish state.

As does the continued Beirut flyovers since the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Lebanon contrary to UN Resolution 1701. A senior UN spokesman for Lebanon is “particularly disturbed” by Israel’s over-flights of Beirut Oct. 31, especially the intense mock-air-raids witnessed by UN observers that morning. Lebanon’s army issued a statement saying its gunners had fired anti-aircraft artillery at the planes on the mock-air raid, unintentionally making the raids more realistic.

Another source of hatred for the Jewish state is its long-running occupation of Gaza, the 38 year occupation was briefly ended Sep. 2005 but there were already reports circulating in April and May. 2006 suggesting strong support within the Israeli administration for a partial or full re-occupation of Gaza to end an upsurge in rocket attacks since the historic withdrawal. The capture of Gilad Shalit and Israeli military corporal Jun. 25 2006 by Hamas and militants from other groups sealed the deal for Israel’s leadership and the disproportionate reaction/massive operation for the re-occupation of Northern Gaza commenced as operation Summer Rains rained bombs from Jun. 28 2006, with IDF ground forces entering the conflict July 6th, after the added “provocation” of a Hamas rocket attack in response to the Israeli bombing. The high civilian death toll of the expanding re-occupation has become yet another pipeline fuelling Palestinian anger and Arab world resentment of Israel.

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Ma’an – In the ongoing Israeli ‘Operation Autumn Clouds’, Israeli forces opened fire on women who were trying to assist the escape of a group of Palestinian fighters besieged in An-Nasser mosque in Beit Hanoun.

One Palestinian woman was killed and another is currently in a state of clinical death. At least another 16 women were injured, of whom three are in a critical condition.

The women were staging a demonstration demanding an end to the siege of the An-Nasser mosque, in which dozens of Palestinian men have been holed up since Thursday evening. The Israeli army announced that its forces had surrounded 60 armed Palestinians in the mosque in the fiercest attack so far in the current Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army says the offensive aims to end the launching of projectiles from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

On Friday morning, Israeli bulldozers arrived to start destroying the besieged mosque. The women began demonstrating as the Israeli soldiers opened fire. As a result, the mosque was not totally demolished and the besieged Palestinian men managed to escape and flee without injury.

However, one of the women protesting was killed by an Israeli bullet and 18 others were injured in the gunfire. Three women are in a critical condition and one is in a state of clinical death.

Eyewitness told Ma’an that the roof of the mosque collapsed completely.

One of the injured women being treated in Al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip told our correspondent, “We brought in women’s clothing for the besieged resistance fighters in the mosque so that they could get out without the soldiers being able to know that they withdrew.”

Palestinian medical sources said that 25 Palestinians have been killed, and some 125 injured, since the start of Israel’s current offensive on the Gaza Strip two days ago. The Israeli army is claiming to have killed 34 Palestinians.

At dawn on Friday morning, four members of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, were killed when an Israeli warplane targeted their car in the Ash-Shuja’iyyah district of Gaza City.

Our correspondent in Gaza reports that according to medical sources, an Israeli warplane fired a missile at the car, killing four members of the Al-Qassam Brigades, including the field leader, ‘Amar Mushtahi. The other three were not immediately identified due to the severe distortion and fragmentation of their bodies upon arrival at the hospital. Later, the two were named as Tamir Hils and Muhammad Farhat, both members of the Al Qassam Brigades.

The Al Qassam Brigades said that the four men were on the way to carry out a “resistance operation”. The Brigades promised revenge for their assassination.

In Beit Hanoun in the north of Gaza Strip, Shadi As-Sharif and Hassan Salah were killed in an Israeli raid.

In addition, the Al Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, announced that three of their fighters were injured early on Friday in an air raid east of Jabalia in the central Gaza Strip.

In a statement, the Al Quds Brigades said that a reconnaissance plane fired a missile at the ‘resisters’, injuring three. They were sent to Al Awda Hospital in Jabalia camp where two are said to be in a critical condition.

The Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, especially in the areas of Beit Hanoun and Jabalia, continues.

Ma’an – In the ongoing Israeli ‘Operation Autumn Clouds’, Israeli forces opened fire on women who were trying to assist the escape of a group of Palestinian fighters besieged in An-Nasser mosque in Beit Hanoun.

One Palestinian woman was killed and another is currently in a state of clinical death. At least another 16 women were injured, of whom three are in a critical condition.

The women were staging a demonstration demanding an end to the siege of the An-Nasser mosque, in which dozens of Palestinian men have been holed up since Thursday evening. The Israeli army announced that its forces had surrounded 60 armed Palestinians in the mosque in the fiercest attack so far in the current Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army says the offensive aims to end the launching of projectiles from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

On Friday morning, Israeli bulldozers arrived to start destroying the besieged mosque. The women began demonstrating as the Israeli soldiers opened fire. As a result, the mosque was not totally demolished and the besieged Palestinian men managed to escape and flee without injury.

However, one of the women protesting was killed by an Israeli bullet and 18 others were injured in the gunfire. Three women are in a critical condition and one is in a state of clinical death.

Eyewitness told Ma’an that the roof of the mosque collapsed completely.

One of the injured women being treated in Al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip told our correspondent, “We brought in women’s clothing for the besieged resistance fighters in the mosque so that they could get out without the soldiers being able to know that they withdrew.”

Palestinian medical sources said that 25 Palestinians have been killed, and some 125 injured, since the start of Israel’s current offensive on the Gaza Strip two days ago. The Israeli army is claiming to have killed 34 Palestinians.

At dawn on Friday morning, four members of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, were killed when an Israeli warplane targeted their car in the Ash-Shuja’iyyah district of Gaza City.

Our correspondent in Gaza reports that according to medical sources, an Israeli warplane fired a missile at the car, killing four members of the Al-Qassam Brigades, including the field leader, ‘Amar Mushtahi. The other three were not immediately identified due to the severe distortion and fragmentation of their bodies upon arrival at the hospital. Later, the two were named as Tamir Hils and Muhammad Farhat, both members of the Al Qassam Brigades.

The Al Qassam Brigades said that the four men were on the way to carry out a “resistance operation”. The Brigades promised revenge for their assassination.

In Beit Hanoun in the north of Gaza Strip, Shadi As-Sharif and Hassan Salah were killed in an Israeli raid.

In addition, the Al Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, announced that three of their fighters were injured early on Friday in an air raid east of Jabalia in the central Gaza Strip.

In a statement, the Al Quds Brigades said that a reconnaissance plane fired a missile at the ‘resisters’, injuring three. They were sent to Al Awda Hospital in Jabalia camp where two are said to be in a critical condition.

The Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, especially in the areas of Beit Hanoun and Jabalia, continues.

Liam Bailey’s port-folio

My name is Liam Bailey and I am a freelance journalist from the UK. My port-folio follows, with links to all my articles published on-line. All my published and un-published articles can be read on this blog and my Better World blog

Some of the articles above were also published by OhmyNews International who have published 18 world affairs op-ed and analysis articles of mine on the front page. All of which can be read –among other things-- from my article list.

The Washington Post’s Post Global blog editor has just made me part of the team as an advanced blogger. The first question I responded to was: If U.S dominance is over in the Middle East as some analysts say, what will replace it?

My response, the article: U.S: End of Middle East Domination-What Domination? was published on Global Post and has also been published by:

Previously I had six features on ethical and sustainable issues and a monthly news round-up accepted for publication by Lifescape Magazine

You can read my published Lifescape features and other ethically orientated articles including the above mentioned UNICEF piece at Better World

I also write fiction:

After my first year I had my first poem published followed by another 11 and threeshort stories since. Including my last Short-Story which I wrote on the request of Sageof Consciousness to appear as the featured Short Story Writer.

Currently necessity dictates that I work full time in a supermarket, but my heart is in my writing. You can commission articles. One off cover-letters for employers, which I am excellent at. Sales pitch for company brochures or a personalised poem for advertising campaigns or greeting cards. Anything you need written, I will write it well.